Coffee Read Free

room.
    “Nope.
Not the same way. There are some opening bids with three percent
changes from the prior close, but they stuck for days, weeks. These
‘Etty bumps’ fade fast. See here - back to nearly the
opening price in what, an hour?”
    “Can
you pull up the actual trades? Can you see the names of the people
behind them?”
    “No,
‘fraid not. The Exchange itself may be able to give us that,
but the University databases and Internet only go so far.”
    “I
need some confidence limits. Can you generate some stats on the
probability of this happening randomly?”
    “Sure,
easy. The chance it is random will be pretty small. But, that
doesn’t mean someone caused it on purpose. Could be some
agricultural thing, or something to do with information releases,”
Knut mused.
    “I
need those limits by tomorrow morning. I’ll present an
abstract to the Department head and see if he’ll let me spend
some money on more research.”
    “Whoa
girl. Tomorrow morning? That’ll cost you.”
    “Sure,
Knut. You know damn well you’ll be finished with it by the
time I hit the stairwell.”
    “Expertise
doesn’t come cheap. It’s not how fast, but how well.”
    “O.K.
then, what do you propose, Mr. Olafson?”
    Knut’s
eyesight allowed him to see only the brightest lights, and even they
appeared as weak spots. The binoculars brought ten characters at a
time to his eyes, filling his field of vision with large bright
block letters. But the handicap heightened his ability to imagine.
He could see perfectly Etty’s coy smile in his mind view.
    He
had asked a co-worker what she looked like, after Etty’s first
visit. Knut hung on every word, painting a clear picture. Not
tall, shapely hips and medium chest, and a face to die for with
slightly plump lips, gorgeous dark eyes, and skin as smooth as
vanilla pudding. Her jet black hair hung straight and long down her
back. He had to fill in some of the gaps, but there she stood
before him in every detail.
    “A
drink. You must join me in a drink. I’ll mix them right
here.”
    “Here?”
    Knut
pointed over his head. Etty noticed the upper cabinet with a
combination lock dial under the latch. “Oh, I get it, the
important personal file.” She could use a little relaxer to
end her outrageous day. “Oh hell - sure. What’s the
combination - I’ll open it.”
    “Sorry.
No can tell. We really do have important papers in there. In
fact, given the potential volatility of your little research work,
that’s where I’ll store yours.”
    Knut
stood, feeling his way to the cabinet. Even if Etty had tried to
record the code as he turned the raised-numbered combination knob,
his nimble fingers would have made it impossible. “Ah, here.
My file on attitude adjustment.” Knut pulled down a bottle of
Schmirnoff Vodka, placed it behind him on the desk, and found two
simple water glasses.
    “What
do you mean, potentially volatile?” Etty asked, while
wondering how he planned to serve the vodka.
    “You
wouldn’t want anyone stealing your dissertation, would you?”
Actually, Knut had bigger concerns. He agreed the price behavior
was odd. But, there could be any number of legitimate explanations.
This was, after all, a world market with growers and producers from
every corner of the globe. If Etty jumped too quickly on a market
manipulation theory, industry experts might make kids play of it.
She, the College, and even he could suffer. On the other hand, if
she happened to be right, then she could be dealing with some nasty
players. He decided to do a little research on his own. Besides,
he liked her, and helping her might give him a chance to get to know
her better.
    Knut
filled the glasses to a healthy half full mark. “There.
Skol.”
    “That’s
it? Just straight Vodka, no ice? Whiskey maybe, Scotch, Brandy,
but Vodka?”
    “Try
it. You’ll be surprised.” Knut drained his glass.
“Ahhhh.” He refilled, took one small sip, and laid the
glass on the Formica